Nothing's Conventional About Us

V ~ Emerald

Emerald, they say, speaks of the calm.
They do not realise,
That they are being fooled.
Focus is not synonymous to calm.
Oh no...
Your focus is the storm
That has sworn my ruin.

Emerald

The morning dawned on her with the alluring appeal of a stroll in the garden or a tryst through the darkness. She forced herself to choose none. Instead, she chose emerald. 

Green velvet oddly resembled her black ensemble from the night before, and in all its dark glory looked dangerously inviting. A smile danced across her lips. Is that not exactly what she was usually aiming for? 

A flame. Alluring. And just as untouchable.

She almost decided against all jewelry, much to the suppressed disappointment that she could still spot in the face of the royal maid who was tasked to attend her this morning, but then decided that being a little less of a rebel for a single day would not kill her. 

Emerald in white gold  clung to every inch of her skin that she chose to adorn. Neither dark emerald green nor black were the most welcome colours in the royal society, and the smirk that glinted in her eyes stemmed from the vision of disturbance that would flicker across each face when their spotted her. 

One could call it cruelty. But she would not. She knew that her childish gestures were but silliness in front of the world's mercilessness. She had seen too much cruelty to truly care anymore.

So, with a final glance at the wild beauty of the almost overgrown terrace garden right next to her chambers, that flaunted a stunning view of the citygates and the dock from the elevation of the citadel as well as the second floor of the palace, she gracefully strutted out of the quarters, right into the bustling, wide hallways of the guest quarters, which spanned through the three floors of this wing of the palace, with three suites in each floor. 

The small crowd of chatting princesses, again, seemed anything but welcoming, but, for once, the idea of having some bad blood excited her.

~~~

Black had always been the colour of his soul, but almost never the colour of this clothes. Today would be an exception. The previous evening, she had awaken something within him. Something formidable and dark and indomitable, and he would embrace that in all its invincibility.

He smirked in the polished silver mirror as black velvet with gold - that almost appeared to be splatters of his own blood to him - adorned his dusky skin. His dark crimson eyes burnt into the silver of the mirror with a mirthless resolve that could slice open souls and burn down hearts. 

The two royal servants and two maidservants who were helping him getting bathed and dressed - a system that annoyed him to no ends - peeked up from beneath lashes that desperately tried to hide the fear that swirled in their eyes. Probably, they saw the storm coming. Too bad for them, seeing the storm does not necessarily protect one from its wrath. 

Arjuna, now, after all this while, could finally let hs mind wander to the issue of the Panchala war. He concluded, that he did not care. Not when he could rather use his time and wits after the Princess of Panchala. He had never loved a chase any more.

Stepping out of his quarters without so much as a gesture to any of the servants, he gracefully made his way down the wide hallways which were still bustling with life. His quarter was on the second floor with direct access to a stairway leading to a terrace, right next to Sahadeva's quarters. Nakula had his quarters close to his twin brother's, and Bhima and Yudhishthira had theirs in the same floor as Arjuna. The pandavas had their own wing in the palace, just the five of their quarters. It fetched as much peace as possible.